On Self Sufficiency

I don't think I'm alone here when I say that I would like to be more self sufficient.  Perhaps being able to make more things than we buy and repair or maintain the things we have.  We have become a society where if something conks out we just pick it up and heave it into the trash and go grab a new one from the store.  Some items are so inexpensive that you think "I'll just pick one up from the on the way home from work."  The problem is that because they're so inexpensive that they are more often than not poorly made, thus perpetuating the cycle of the item breaking and buying a replacement.  I can tell you that I've had it up to here with items of crappy quality.  Without being too hoighty toighty, we are trying to buy the best items that our money can afford. As for fixing some items, yes the time it takes to fix some things has to be factored into the return you get for your efforts.  If we don't try to fix some things, we will never know how they work.  If you don't know how things work you are at the mercy of repair people.  Having said all of this my handiness is limited.